Europa League Winner Odds and Betting Preview

Manchester City fans would certainly have dreamed of European glory at the start of this season and bookmakers believe they have a strong chance of getting their wish - albeit in the Europa League rather than the world's Premier Club competition. The planet's richest team are favourites to win the second-tier tournament this term, at odds of 5/1 with Betfred (bet £10 to win £50 profit), and they are certainly the ones to beat going by their displays in the Premier League so far and by the vast array of talent that allows them to compete on as many fronts as they wish without dropping significantly in strength.

Manchester United, however, will also fancy their chances in a competition with which they are not well acquainted. Having reached three Champions League finals in just four years, United failed to get past the group stages of that tournament this season and are 7/1 with Coral and Betfred to bag themselves what could only be thought of as a consolation prize. The Premier League title race, however, is hotting up in England, and it seems unlikely Sir Alex Ferguson's top players will be featuring too heavily, which will always hurt the chances of a team that seems to lack real strength in depth.

Next in the betting are FC Schalke and Valencia, both available at 12/1 with Boylesports and Betfred. Shalke were knocked out of last season's Champions League in the semi-finals by Manchester United after eliminting then-holders Inter Milan and have made a strong start to their Europa League campaign this term. They are also riding high in domestic competition, and will not be a side anyone wants to draw in the next round. Valencia, manwhile, are not the force they once were following the departures of key players over the years, but have managed to stay within touching distance of the mighty Barcelona so far in La Liga and look by far the best hope of Spain have of lifting the Eruopa League trophy.

The other two contenders for that role are Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, at 14/1 and 20/1 with Paddy Power. While both at least remain in the right half of the La Liga table, neither has shown any signs of excelling this season. However, both sides are in good form of late and both, vitally in tournaments such as the Europa League, have matchwinners in their sides in the forms of Falcao and Fernando Llorente. If they can avoid the market leaders for long enough, they could certainly each muster a challenge.

FC Porto's display in last season's Europa League was magnificent as they swept all before them under current Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas. Although the manager and top-scorer Falcao have now left the club, the bulk of the side remains, and they could well prove a popular choice in the betting at 25/1 with Bet 365. At the same price are PSV and Udinese, with Bodog and Betfred respectively, with FC Twente, Lazio, Sporting CP and Rubin Kazan all slightly longer at 33/1 with Blue Square and 888 Sport.

Bookmakers bet 40-1 bar the rest of the field, although some interesting outsiders could be Stoke City and PAOK. Stoke have shown in the Premier League that they can compete with the best teams Europe has to offer and may be best placed to cause an upset if they were to come up against one of the market leaders, particularly following their FA Cup final victory over City last season, and are as long as 40/1 with PAddy Power. PAOK, meanwhile, who are 80/1 with Paddy Power, showed what they are capable of with an away win over Premier League hopefuls Tottenham earlier in this competition, and could have it in them to cause more upsets further down the line.

The Europa League final takes place on the 9th May at the National Arena in Bucharest, Romania.

Europa League winner betting odds

Europa League match betting odds